Saltaire Archive

Exhibition in Salt Building

This unique collection owned by Shipley College provides insights in to the history and development of Saltaire. It is a vital resource for anyone wishing to find out more about the World Heritage Site. In 2015 the College signed an agreement for Saltaire Stories to manage and promote the archive’s educational use.

Volunteers and members of the Saltaire History Club are actively involved in the archive, which is managed under the guidance of the Archivist. Cataloguing has been underway for several years. Saltaire Stories aims to complete the catalogue, make the archive more accessible, and develop learning resources.

Public exhibitions are held as often as possible, for instance during the World Heritage Weekend in April or Saltaire Festival in September. A small range of items is currently displayed in the ‘People and Process’ exhibition at Salts Mill. Smaller displays for other occasions have become possible through Saltaire Stories.

The collection includes:-

Books, paper documents and ephemera:

Publications about Sir Titus Salt and Salts Mill

Souvenir guides from the 1870s onwards

1960s Salts sample books/catalogues

Salts Mill works’ publications, posters etc.

Salts High School posters and photographs

Projects by university and college students

Personal Memory files

News cuttings about Saltaire/Shipley from the 1980s onwards

Maps and plans covering Saltaire, Shipley and Bradford, dating back before the founding of the village in 1853

Architectural plans/drawings of village buildings

Photographs and illustrations featuring Saltaire buildings, people and community events

Shipley College records, including historic prospectuses

Salt family collection (Sir Titus Salt built the Mill and village in 1853), including:

Family portraits and photographs

Birth, marriage and death certificates

Notebooks, correspondence and ephemera

Original drawings by Titus Salt as a boy

Roberts family collection (Sir James Roberts took over Salts Mill in 1893), including:

Family photographs, maps and plans

Mortgage documents, birth and marriage certificates

Ledgers, business letter books, Shipley and Baildon rent book

Objects, such as:

Bobbins, tools, samples of wool and cloth from Salts Mill

China, glass and other mementos from the 1887 Royal Yorkshire Jubilee Exhibition in Saltaire